Folding Space Contemporary Artists' Books in Japan and the UK

30 January to 28 March 2026

Contemporary book-based artworks from Japan travelled to the UK to meet their counterparts, selected from Winchester School of Art’s Library Collection. Displayed together, they communicated and connected to open up further dialogue around what a book is and can be.

This exhibition was part of a wider series of projects taking place over 2025 & 2026 beginning with an exhibition at Urawa Art Museum in Saitama, Japan, that explores the connection between UK and Japanese artists and the books they make.

Folding Space is the project’s second iteration, on show at The Winchester Gallery from 30th January – 28th March. It features books created by Japanese artists alongside selections from the University of Southampton Library’s collection of artists’ books, held at Winchester School of Art.

Folding Space seeks to close the distance between Japan and the UK by showing how artists from different cultures explore specific themes and techniques of book construction, design and creative practice in a multiplicity of ways.

Co-curated by The Winchester Gallery, Seiji Shinohara, Catherine Polley and Noriko Suzuki-Bosco

Developed in partnership with the Urawa Art Museum, Japan, the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK and the University of Southampton, UK.

A promotional poster for an exhibition titled “Folding Space: Japanese and UK Artists’ Books,” showing dates 30.01–28.03.26 in red text and Japanese characters in green below. The background features abstract blue geometric shapes, and logos for the University of Southampton, Galerie412, The Winchester Gallery, and sponsors are displayed at the bottom.

Funded by: The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

 

 

Wider Project  

 

At the Promised Place: Expanding Imagination Through Book Art 

Urawa Art Museum, Saitama, Japan 

15 November 2025 to 18 January 2026 

 

Folding Space: Japanese and UK Artists’ Books 

The Winchester Gallery, Winchester School of Art 

30 January to 28 March 2026 

 

I am a book: Japan in the artists’ book collection

Winchester School of Art Library

30 January to 27 March 2026

This exhibition will explore Japan in its widest sense, as it is represented in the University of Southampton Library’s Artists’ Book Collection, held at Winchester School of Art. It will feature Japanese artists, places, as well as examples of the use of Japanese papers and binding techniques.

 

Queering Connections: Folding Space: Japanese and UK Artists’ Books workshop

Winchester School of Art

5 February 2026, 17:00

Book your free ticket

 

Into the Fold: Artist’s Book Fair 

Winchester School of Art Library 

6 to 7 March 2026 

 

BABE: Looking East – Artists’ Book Fair 

UWE Bristol City Campus, Spike Island, Bristol 

26-27 June 2026 

Read more about BABE on this Instagram post

  • A bright gallery space with large windows displays two tall tables holding books and archival objects in transparent cases. Sunlight casts reflections across the floor and surrounding exhibits.
  • A gallery display features tables with transparent cases containing sculptural book artworks, alongside a curved wall-mounted installation made of blue-toned pieces. A glass-topped display case in the foreground holds various printed materials and small objects.
  • A narrow wooden shelf runs along the corner of a white wall, holding a sequence of small photographic prints. The photos form a continuous horizontal strip showing outdoor architectural scenes.
  • Folding Space 033
  • Folding Space 035
  • An altered copy of Wuthering Heights stands partially open, its pages sculpted and cut away into a dense, textured landscape, with a blue cover framing the carved interior.

    Masako Kobayashi Wuthering Heights, 2025 Hand-cut readymade hardbound book

  • An open book with a red cover reveals intricate, layered paper cutouts forming a geometric maze carved into the pages, photographed against a white background.

    Hiroko Akasaka Book Object Red & White No. 3, 2025 Hand-cut readymade notebook

  • An arrangement of artist books and sculptural book objects is spread on a white surface, including folded accordion books, boxed pieces, and cut-paper constructions with photographic and abstract imagery. The works vary in shape and texture, featuring patterns, collaged scenes, and three-dimensional forms.

    Kyoko Matsunaga The Skin Square, the Pupil Square: Dreams of Scientists (deluxe edition), 2017 Japanese paper, beeswax, vintage book pages, trifoliate orange branch, brass wire, inkjet printing, cyanotype, and letterpress

  • A row of sculptural artist books with brightly colored covers stands upright on a rectangular base, each featuring cut-out windows that reveal layered interiors. The books vary in size and color, creating a rhythmic, architectural arrangement against a white background.

    

Folding space - events

Drypoint Printing by Shiho Dono   

For this workshop Shiho Dono took participants for a walk to collect nature based items to be used to create an artwork or book. Shiho Dono is a Japanese artist born Hokkaido, Japan, and currently lives in Slovakia. Shiho uses particular techniques to make her artist books, often closely connected to nature and using natural forms. 

Learn more about this past event
A close-up view shows a series of thin circular panels with irregular cut‑out shapes, revealing delicate translucent layers within. The panels stand upright in a row, showcasing their organic textures and softly worn edges.

Queering Connections: Japanese and UK Artist’ Books workshop

This workshop brought participants together for an experimental, in‑person drawing session led by artist Noriko Suzuki‑Bosco. The workshop explored themes of queering materials, chance, play, and creative connection through the Japanese Kujibiki technique, encouraging attendees to work collaboratively and responsively with randomness.

Learn more about this past event
A collection of colorful hand-drawn illustrations on a white background, including animals, fruits, and imaginative characters such as a bird, cat with a rainbow scarf, giraffe, owl, and a person in a green shirt. Some drawings are labeled with Japanese text in various colors.
Folding Space
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Photographs credits: Dave Gibbons and Xinyue Li. Email us for specific credits and captions for external use.